Element has announced that Adidas action sports veteran Jon Sinko has joined the company as its new VP of global merchandising and design.

Jon Sinko, Element's new VP of M&D - ElementElement's Global General Manager David Brooks said in a release that the company is looking to tap Sinko's “track record of success in building teams, bringing the right product to the market at the right time, solving complex development issues that come with global brands and increased need for speed to market.”

Sinko spent twenty years at Adidas, most recently as global product marketing director, a position in which he led snowboarding and skateboarding within the action sports division. Having started with Adidas two decades ago, he was involved in all aspects of launching the company's action sports business, from strategy to execution.

His experience is rooted in design, sales, and marketing in the skateboarding space, skills which could prove to be extremely valuable to the 25-year old Element skate brand. He holds his bachelor's degree in marketing from Seton Hall University and began working for Adidas in 1999 as an apparel developer, two years after his college graduation.

Sinko said that his reasons for leaving Adidas and joining Element align with his goal for his "future career within skateboarding [to] have meaning and truly give back to the community." He added that he loves "working with product and Element will afford me the opportunity to lead every aspect from idea to market."